I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes! With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.
As I sat to begin writing this devotion, I realized that the date was August 24, 2020. The mere realization of this was enough to stir up in me a concoction of mixed emotions almost instantaneously, so much so that I was unable to find the clarity that I needed to put to words what the verses in Psalm 119 mean to me. “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”
August 24, 2014 was when I chose to be baptized here at Leroy Community Chapel for the third time in my life. I was sprinkled as a baby, baptized as many teens are at 13 during a very emotional week of church camp. However, this time was immensely different. I was in the hardest and darkest place of my life in 2014. I had lost complete control of every aspect of my life and I began to see myself in the reality of who I am before God. I saw my utter helplessness apart from Christ. I realized that I had not known Jesus, I only knew about Him. I only had heard about Him in the stories and the sermons over all of those years. But now, something was truly different. He had known me all along and I, in my pride and selfishness, could not see Him; nor did I care to look to be utterly honest. I had everything in control (or so I thought). Following Him simply took the form of checking off a box that I had attended church and read a chapter in my bible everyday.
This time was absolutely different. I read my testimony that day and I don’t recall the words exactly anymore except for one small part: ”I choose Christ. I choose Him today and I will choose Him tomorrow. I will choose Him everyday for the rest of my life.” As I wrote those words, I meant it. As I read those words, I meant it. And it is ONLY by the grace of God that enables me to live that out on a daily basis. He is perfectly faithful. Do I do this perfectly? No, absolutely not. I know I don’t. That is exactly why Jesus is my treasure. That is exactly why I need Him every moment and cling to Him so desperately. The good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ is true and unchanging whether or not we receive it. I know it was only by the grace of God that I was able to now truly receive it for the true gift that it is. The sufferings of Christ were and are still working to cover me.
So, on the seventh anniversary of my third baptism, as I sat down to write a devotion for my LCC family, I was overcome with awe and emotion due to the treasure that I have been given in the gift of Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord. Not one minute of my life is the same today as it was seven years ago and I can only reiterate the words of the Psalmist when he says,
11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. 12 Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes! 13 With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. 14 In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. 15 I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. 16 I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.
Friends, my words do not even begin to compare to the words of the Scriptures. There is nothing divine in my words, but what’s there is a heart that realizes its need for a Savior and an awareness that in every moment, following Christ is a choice. Today, begin to store up His word in your heart. Today, choose Christ.
Lord Jesus, Although we cannot see You with our eyes, we know you are real and the One and only source of truth. Jesus, You ARE the Word and it is only because of Your completed work on the cross do we have what we have. Lord, Your Word is a treasure to our hearts and minds, and we are eternally grateful for it. We thank you for Your intimate presence and care for each one of us as You transform our lives. May we be used as vessels of Your goodness and grace to an unbelieving world. We love you, Lord Jesus. Amen.
– Vicki Krnac
Deep Waters: An LCC Devotional 